Senior Center backs plans for affordable housing

The Carson Senior Center is backing plans to build affordable housing on property just east of the center.

Center Director Janice McIntosh said the plan by Community Development, Inc. will be presented to the Board of Supervisors April 1.

The proposal is to build 52 apartment units for those 55 and older who are at or below 50 percent of median income.

"It would be great because it would be right next to the senior center, where services are available not only to eat lunch but to get social services," she said.

The project must go through the city because it owns the land, deeded to Carson City by the Bureau of Land Management specifically for affordable housing or other similar projects.

McIntosh said 41 property owners living nearby have been sent notices so they understand what the project will be.

Community Development, Inc. is a nonprofit which has done similar projects in a number of areas throughout the western United States, including one in Fernley. McIntosh said they will build then manage the complex for at least 15 years.

"It's a golden opportunity because it translates into lower rents for people coming here," she said.